When ice falling off the roof destroyed the plastic manger that came with my Nativity Scene, I really didn't have
alot of time to devote to building a replacement. Thus a dowel was cut in half both lengthwise and widthwise to form
legs and a thin sheet of plywood for the trough area. After barely two seasons this temporary fix showed it was no
match for Michigan winters.

After setting up for the 2006 season, I took advantage of some downtime and built a more permanent replacement that
resembled the plastic one (pieces of it had been saved and were pieced together to form a rough prototype).

I opted to go with cedar as it is naturally resistant to rot and decay. Additionally, the color of weathered cedar
was a desired outcome.

In case you're wondering what is written on the bottom of the manger in the above photo, it is my initials plus
those of my daughter (she has two middle names) and a notation the manger was built in December of 2006.